A New Beginning
by rachiedaisy
Summary: Harry trys his hand at something new, and plenty of rhr moments too!
1. Default Chapter

Hiya all! This is my first fanfic so be nice-only messin', write whatever you want as long as u review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Let's face it, if I did I wouldn't be writing this would I? All the characters (with the exception of Rachel who is mine-ALL MINE *manic laugh*) belong to good old J.K  
  
The Summons  
  
Fully clothed in Dudley's cast-offs, Harry stared up at the ceiling as if it didn't exist, imagining the stars and planets beyond, and the dark curtain. "Stop it," he scolded himself, "Don't relive it." However, try as he might, the echoes of that that dreaded night rebounded off the walls of Harry's desolate mind, empty-but for thoughts of Sirius.  
The long summer holidays spent in the muggle world had given Harry a lot of time to think; and although he still blamed himself for what happened to Sirius, Dumbledore's words at the end of last term had helped him to convince himself that t wasn't just him to blame for his godfather's dea.  
Harry jumped up and whacked his head across the wall. Much to his satisfaction, it relieved him from thoughts of Sirius. The only side effect was that he now had a pounding headache. He smiled a little when h recalled memories of Dobby the house elf doing exactly the same actions he himself had just performed-bashing his head against a wall to remove feelings of guilt.  
Harry sighed, walked over to his small window and looked out over the familiar, trim gardens of Privet Drive, illuminated by the silvery light of the moon. His smile grew a little wider as he thought of his teacher, friend and now mentor-Remus Lupin, one quarter of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Pro.  
All of a sudden, a slight flutter of wings caught his eye. He looked up and saw, silhouetted against the circular orb of light, the unmistakable figure of an owl. His heart and spirits rose-a message from the wizarding world.  
Although life at the Dursley's had improved considerably since ex- professor 'Mad-Eye' Moody had had words (including several not-so-subtle threats) with Uncle Vernon; things were still unbearably dull when the only people Harry could talk to kept looking at him as if he were an escaped Hippogriff.  
The Owl dipped slightly and gracefully landed at Harry's windowsill. Harry didn't recognise it at first but soon realised why-the letter it carried bore the crest of the Order of the Phoenix.  
In fact, this was not too different to the Hogwarts crest-and purposely so. A quick glance at the seal would have seen the letter on it's way to one of the many students of witchcraft or wizardry. However, upon close examination one would have spotted that the serpent, resembling the house of Slytherin on the Hogwarts crest, was replaced with a Phoenix. This always reminded Harry of the bird who had rescued him from the Basilisk in his second year: Fawkes.  
Without bothering to thank the owl, he whipped out the letter from its pouch in impatient anticipation, wondering what news it contained. He was a little disappointed and quite confused when he saw it contained just two sentences: -  
  
We must speak-come to Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys are on their way. Dumbledore  
  
Harry's disappointment ebbed away when he read the last sentence. Ron was coming, along with Fred, George-maybe even Ginny.Before he had time to wonder when or how they were coming, he heard a loud crash. Startled, he jumped off the bed upon which he had been reading the letter and looked out of the window again. What he saw made him laugh out loud. 


	2. Reunited With Old Friends

Come on! U know that u wanna review! Right, this chapters gonna mostly be about Harry's journey to Grimmauld Place. How he gets there? Read on.  
  
Reunited With Old Friends  
  
Hovering astride impressive brooms were Ron, Fred, George, Bill and Mr. Weasley. Lying under a lamppost, looking decidedly worse for the wear was their sister, Ginny. "Honestly Ginny!" Harry heard the annoyed whisper of Mr. Weasley; "You've probably gone and woken up the whole neighbourhood!"  
Harry gave a low chuckle when he saw Fred and George doing perfect imitations of Ginny's crash, much to the annoyance of the youngest Weasley. "STOP IT FRED!" cried Ginny, immediately followed by Mr. Weasley.  
Meanwhile, Ron and Bill had seen Harry watching the commotion from his bedroom. They signalled for him to open the window and no sooner had the glass been scraped open, Ron flew into the room. "Hiya Ron! Nice arrival!" Harry grinned at his best friend, who glanced back at Ginny and chuckled. "She's a good flier really-Fred and George did an invisibility charm on the lamppost without Dad seeing them. Anyway, Harry-how are you mate?" "Oh you know," replied Harry, "Nothing a good dose of flying wouldn't cure!" "Glad to hear it," the deep voice that belonged to Bill rang throughout the room for the first time, "because you're coming with us right now to number 12."  
Harry grinned and looked at the two wizards standing in his bedroom. He imagined the look on the face of Uncle Vernon-who was snoring away in the room next door-if he suddenly peeked his fat head round the bedroom door. He was delighted to see Ron again after the long summer. Yes, he'd had letters but they just weren't the same.  
Mr. Weasley suddenly interrupted the meeting by flying into the room. "Hallo Harry!" he cried with delight, "Ready to go?" "Not yet Mr. Weasley," replied Harry, "You arrived immediately after I finished reading Dumbledore's letter." "Oh, well in that case we'd better get started."  
The rest of the family flew in through the window and immediately started to pack Harry's trunk. After pointing out the loose floorboard under his bed to George (or Fred), Harry turned round and was addressed by Mr. Weasley. "Now, Harry, do you think we should wake your aunt and uncle up? After all, they might be worried about you." "I don't think so Mr. Weasley," replied Harry, "They'll probably think they've been granted a wish-one minute I'm there, the next I'm not! And besides, you know what happened before the Quidditch World Cup." "Yes, things did get rather ugly. All right Harry," conceded Mr. Weasley, "We won't wake them up. But I do think that you should leave a note, just in case." "OK." Harry grabbed a grubby piece of parchment and a quill from his bedside table and wrote: -  
  
Gone with the Weasleys back to my world. See you next year. HARRY  
  
He tiptoed downstairs and left the note on the dining table, the one place it would be found, a certainty once the Dudley factor was considered.  
By the time he got back to his room, the Weasleys had finished packing up his trunk and were tying it onto Harry's Firebolt, a present from.Sirius. "Come on Harry." Ginny touched his arm and talked in a low, sweet voice. "You can think about him later. We have to go now." "Sure Gin!" Harry smiled forcefully as he turned to look at her, "Coming now!" As she smiled back and turned away, a thought struck him. How had she known he had been thinking about Sirius?  
He brushed aside these thoughts, straddled his broom and flew smoothly out of the window, where he joined Ron, who was already about 50ft up in the air. "Would you look at this Harry!" said Ron, pointing to the name at the head of the broom, which looked just like Harry's previous Nimbus 2000, only more polished, with a nicer handle and perfectly trimmed twigs. "Nimbus 2003," continued Ron with a proud voice, "Dumbledore fixed it so we could travel here on them. Not a patch on your Firebolt of course but apart from that it's the best broom around today! AND Dumbledore said we could keep them!" "Nice one Ron!" replied Harry, genuinely delighted for his friend. His previous broom had been a Comet 260 and Harry felt that Ron deserved a break. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you-what chance d'you think we've got of getting our OWL results off Dumbledore early?"  
The wait for the OWL results had taken up a lot of Harry's thoughts over he holidays. He and Ron both wanted to be aurors when they left school. However, that would mean top marks in practically all of their subjects and even though Harry felt that he had probably got an 'O'- outstanding in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he wasn't so sure about potions taught by Harry's least favourite teacher- Professor Snape. "None whatsoever mate. We arrived there about a month ago and I must have asked Dumbledore about a million times since then." Ron broke off to quickly adjust his height in order to avoid some low-flying geese. Harry followed suit. "Each time I get the same answer: 'Wait until August Ron, like everyone else.'" Harry almost fell off his broom with laughter at Ron's practically perfect imitation of Dumbledore. However, he soon recovered and at once was in conversation with Ron again. "Anyway mate," continued Ron, "how did you like your birthday present?" "It's brilliant," enthused Harry, "It'll going to be really handy back at school."  
Ron had, with Hermione's help, given Harry an interesting device which could tell if a person was telling the truth or not. It was very small, only about the size of a coin, and was flat and circular in shape. Upon it was a button the size of the device itself, which worked the black-coloured item. One would only have to press this button whilst somebody was speaking to determine if they were telling the truth-if the subjects eyes glowed a bright purple, they were lying. "Yeah, definitely," agreed Ron, "Hermione did the charm of course but I came up with the idea." "I know Ron!" smiled Harry. Ron was already outdone by most of his brothers. Harry could tell that he didn't want to be outdone by his friend as well. Mr. Weasley interrupted his thoughts. "Harry! Ron!" he cried, "Start to dive! We're there!"  
  
Make sure you review people! Stay tuned-the next chapter is gonna be a good 'un. 


	3. The Task

Just a quick thankyou to ManIACjAcKaL for my first review! Thanx hun ;)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Rachel and the plot-for now. I might put in a few more characters later. All other characters, locations, spells etc. belong to J.K. Rowling  
  
The Task  
  
They all trooped through the door of number 12, Grimmauld Place tired but thankful that Sirius' mother was sound asleep in her frame. Harry paused for a moment as they entered the dining room, not to take in his surroundings, but because Mrs. Weasley was crushing them all in a huge bear hug. "Oh, thank God you're alright!" she cried, "I've been out of my mind with worry! Alastor was telling me about all the risks." "Er, sorry about that Arthur," growled Alastor Moody, stepping out from the kitchen with a cup of tea, his magical eye fixed on Harry, "I didn't mean to upset her." "Never mind Alastor." Mr. Weasley took the cup from Mad-Eye and gave it to his wife, who in turn gave it to Bill. The cup was passed around in this fashion until it came back to Mr. Weasley, who shrugged and started to drink. He put it down and hugged his wife, who was still near hysterics. "Molly, calm down. We're all safe. Besides, you haven't said hello to Harry yet." "Oh I'm sorry dear, it's just.well, never mind eh? -Yes, how are you Harry dear?" "Fine thanks Mrs. Weasley. Er. do you know where Professor Dumbledore is?" "Standing right behind you Mr. Potter." Harry whirled round to see who had spoken. Sure enough, it was Dumbledore himself. "Harry, Ron, come with me. I need to talk to you two." Harry looked sideways at Ron, who returned a questioning look. "Please follow me." Dumbledore smiled and walked out of the room. The two friends followed.  
Dumbledore lead them through a door Harry had never seen before, which opened onto a set of stone steps, going deep underground. Down, down, down they went, and all the while not a word passed between the three. Eventually they arrived at a small wooden door. Dumbledore muttered something-Harry didn't quite catch what it was- and the door swung open to reveal a large circular room, at the centre of which was a round table. Sitting at the table reading was. "HERMIONE!" Ron and Harry yelled out the name of their best friend in complete unison. Hermione looked up and smiled, first at Ron, then at Harry. "Hello Ron! Harry! When did you get here?" "The question is," replied Ron, "when did you get here? I've been here for a month now. Mind you, Harry's only just arrived." "I got here about two hours ago. Professor Dumbledore showed me down here while you were off to get Harry. I've been waiting ever since." Hermione stood up and hugged Ron and Harry in turn. "I've really missed you both over the holidays. You don't know how much." "Loathe though I am to break up this happy reunion," said Dumbledore with a smile, "I believe that I must speak with you all." "Yes of course," said Hermione, "sorry professor." "Not at all Hermione."  
"Now I must speak. It is a matter of importance, not only to me, but perhaps to you also. Harry, Ron, Hermione, soon I shall introduce you to Rachel Barry, a witch of your age whom I have been personally training for the past two years in secret. She is muggle-born, and her magical talent was discovered only two years ago. Alas, this was too late for her to enrol at Hogwarts-she would have been grossly behind all other students in her year. This is why I took up her training myself. For the past two years, she has been trained in her own home. She shows extreme talent for one so inexperienced and." "Excuse me professor," interrupted Hermione, "But would you mind if I asked you a question?" "Fire away Hermione," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "Well, if this 'Rachel' has such talent, why didn't she develop when we did? I mean, surely her talent would have shone through at eleven?" "Hermione, as to that question, even I do not know the answer," replied Dumbledore shaking his head. "However, I must continue." "Rachel has the makings of one of the most powerful aurors that ever lived. Even now, after only a short time in training, she has mastered advanced spells such as the Patronus spell, Protean charm-she can even fight off the Imperius curse." "But," cried Harry, "she's only had two years experience in magic! How could she do all that? It's extremely difficult magic! NEWT standard and above!" "I have always prized my teaching abilities Harry. Besides, when I mentioned Hermione it had the desired affect. Rachel is a competitive girl- she threw herself into her studies whole-heartedly. Her exact words were, 'I've been given this chance-I don't want to lose it because I couldn't be bothered working'." "Blimey, " Ron whispered to Harry, "we've got another Hermione on our hands here." Harry grinned, as did Dumbledore. Hermione frowned. "Anyway," continued Dumbledore, "Now I come to your roles. Rachel, though excellent at magic, has yet to experience life in the wizarding world. She learnt all she knows in the comfort of her own home. I want you three to keep an eye on her-especially Harry and Hermione. You two know how it feels to be thrust into a world you have never experienced. Rachel only knows spells. She has no idea of the past or present of our world. I had no time to tell her-she had to learn first." "So basically professor, you want us to mind this girl-teach her about everything." said Harry. "Yes Harry," replied Dumbledore, "that is correct." "But wait," Ron said with an expression of disbelief etched on his face, "You mean she doesn't even know about You-Know-Who?" "No Ron." Dumbledore looked Ron directly in the eye. "She does not know about Harry and Voldemort." Ron winced as he heard the name that always struck terror into every witch and wizard he knew, except for Harry and Dumbledore. Even Hermione had started using the word... "When will we meet her?" asked Hermione. "Right now."  
In perfect timing, the door opened and a strange girl stepped in, followed by the rest of the Weasleys and Remus Lupin.  
  
This chapter and the next were originally going to be just one, but this turned out to be a bit long. (For my standards anyway!) I PROMISE that you will find out more about Rachel (possibly looks, etc.) in the next chapter. Something very interesting is about to happen. BUT ONLY IF YOU REVIEW!!!! Tell me what you think of Rachel so far. 


	4. The Will

OK, sorry about the formatting so far it's just my computer. Ill try to define paragraphs from now on though! Some people have been asking me where I came up with the name for Rachel- well, Rachel is a common name in England + Barry was my grandma's name! So there u go just in case you've been wondering about that.  
  
The Will  
  
Harry looked up and gasped. She was so beautiful! Hair the colour of autumnal leaves, soft and silky, long and straight. Eyes a deep sea green and a happy round face with a perfect nose; and lucious lips with a nervous grin displayed upon them. Her body was slim and in perfect proportion. Her hands revealed the fingernails of a nervous person, but this only added to Harry's enchantment. So she wasn't perfect. Legs which were so.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a smile cast at him from her direction. He grinned back, and her smile widened. "When you are ready Harry." The deep voice of Professor Dumbledore brought Harry back to reality and he blushed. Had he really been that obvious? Dumbledore smiled and then continued. "I have called all in this room here today for a special purpose concerning Sirius Black." Harry gave a sharp intake of breath. What news was this of Sirius? He was dead. "The matter of concern is his will, which he requested not to be read until all recipients where present. That is Mr. Potter, The Weasley family, Miss. Granger, Mr. Lupin and Miss. Barry. I have not yet seen the contents of this envelope," Harry's eyes were drawn to a small letter enclosed in Dumbledore's hand. "But, as requested by Sirius, I will now read the details aloud."  
  
With a short pause to clear his throat, Dumbledore opened the letter and, in a voice clear as crystal, began to read. "To my godchild Harry Potter:  
Do not grieve too much for me. My time has now passed. You must fight on. Take care of Rachel for me. I am leaving you joint ownership of number 12, Grimmauld Place with Rachel Barry, the objects residing in it and half of all my gold to the sum of G500, 000.  
  
To my great friend Remus Lupin:  
Look after Harry. I am leaving you an object from number 12, Grimmauld Place of your choice. I am also including the sum of one eighth of all my gold- G125, 000.  
  
To the Weasley family:  
You have proved yourselves to be invaluable friends in times of great need. I shall not forget your trust. I am leaving all of you, with the exception of Percy Weasley, the sum of one eighth of all my gold, to be divided equally.  
  
To Hermione Granger:  
Many thanks are owed to you, as without your invaluable help I would not have survived as long as I did. I am leaving you the sum of one sixteenth of all my gold, to be split with Ron Weasley equally. To Rachel Barry:  
I have never known you personally but the truth must be told. I am your uncle. Although I never knew you, I have been told be Professor Dumbledore that you have grown into a fine person of courage and faith in others. I hope my gift will help you with your discoveries throughout the wizarding world. I leave you joint ownership of number 12, Grimmauld Place with Harry Potter and the remaining amount of my gold, totalling G187, 000.  
  
The amounts of money mentioned are to be transferred to the benefactor's Gringotts accounts upon the opening of this will. I have already opened an account for Rachel, the number and key of which are enclosed. I also leave the key of vault number 356 to Mr. Harry Potter."  
  
Dumbledore took two keys out of the envelope. He gave one to Harry and another to Rachel. He surveyed them all, taking in their reactions.  
  
The Weasleys were in shock. All this money had suddenly been left to them. Fred and George looked at each other and grinned. They could think of many ways in which to put this money to use in their shop.  
  
Remus Lupin nodded. He knew the generosity of his friend and had expected such lavish gifts. He looked at Rachel-who was she?  
  
Rachel was dumbstruck. Though she did not know the currency, 187 thousand was a huge number. She also owned a house. But who was Sirius Black? And who were these people round the table? She knew Professor Dumbledore of course. But who were the Weasleys? Hermione she had heard of. Was she really as clever as Dumbledore had said? Remus Lupin? A great friend of Sirius-her uncle. But what was he like? And Harry Potter, the good-looking boy who had smiled back at her. He had looked at her for a long time.  
  
Hermione was surprised. She had expected nothing from Sirius. She had always considered her contribution to his rescue from the Dementors as minimal. What about his niece? She spotted Rachel looking at Harry and felt thankful, thankful that they would take up all the attention away from.others.  
  
Harry was upset. He knew he should be comforted by Sirius' words but he just felt depressed. He would have gladly sacrificed all of his inheritance plus all of the gold in his own vault if it meant he could get Sirius back.  
  
Dumbledore broke the silence. "Well, now that the formal elements of the night are over." "Oooh, yes!" interrupted Mrs. Weasley, "I've been cooking all the time you've been gone! We have a right feast set up!" The confused looks turned to smiles. Everyone loved Mrs. Weasley's cooking. The door was soon vacated by all except for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Rachel.  
  
"So Rachel," Hermione asked, forward as always. "Haven't you got any experience of our world at all?" " I only know the spells that Dumbledore taught me," replied Rachel, glad that Hermione had broken the silence, "Other than that I know nothing. No history, nothing. Dumbledore said that you have an entirely different way of life. He also mentioned something about some guy called Voldemort." Rachel broke off, surprised at Ron clapping his hands over his ears. "Ron," said Harry, "You've got to get used to hearing his name mate. You're with me, remember? He usually tends to pay us a visit at some point of the year.!" "Hang on a second," said Rachel, a confused look on her face, "Who exactly is Voldemort?" Hermione, Ron and Harry all looked at each other. "Well," said Harry, "It's a long story."  
  
They then proceeded to tell Rachel of all that had happened in the last five years of their friendship and beyond. It struck Harry that although they had never met Rachel before, they knew that they could trust her with the most intimate of details. She had.a kind of aura of trust around her, something he couldn't quite explain. Even his relationship with Cho was brought up-he was surprised when she stiffened at the mention of a girlfriend. However, when Ron revealed they had split up, she seemed much happier. At the end of their story, Rachel didn't have time to comment. They were interrupted by Fred (or George, Harry couldn't tell which) calling them to hurry up and eat something. They ran upstairs, for there was no garuntee of food, as they were so late.  
  
When they arrived, all was well. There was still plenty of food and drink, enough for all of them. They sat down at the four empty chairs that had been saved for them, and soon the conversation was flowing.  
  
"So Rachel, do you know everyone here?" "Er, no." "Well, we'd better introduce you! This is Remus Lupin, he was your uncle's great friend you know, and this pair are Fred and George.or is it the other way round? I can never tell. Well watch out for their pranks anyway. This is Alastor Moody."  
  
"Hey Harry-what d'you think of her?" "Well-she is quite cute." "No, keep your fantasies to yourself-I MEANT what do you think she's like?" "She's good-I reckon she'll be a laugh, and anyway."  
  
"Dumbledore, do you really think it's wise letting her come to the school? I mean, she has no experience of the magical world, will she be able to concentrate fully?" "Alastor, it is precisely because of this lack of knowledge of our world that I have insisted she come to the school. If anything, to get grades so she can make use of her magic, but also to ready her for the fight. She has so much potential, we cannot waste it..."  
  
"So, going to Diagon Alley tomorrow Harry?" "Yes Mrs. Weasley, I have some things I need to sort out."  
  
You'll find out what harry has to sort out in the next chapter. Sorry, I won't be able to update for two weeks cos im going on holiday. YAY! 


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